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K-U-O-W public radio

in Seattle.

In Seattle.

And now for the show. Every parent of a trans kid has a painful story about their child getting outed by paperwork.

By a substitute teacher, reading from the official roster at school,

or the receptionist calling out a name at the orthodontist office.

That's why, two years ago,

before I enrolled my daughter in public school,

I raced to get her official documents changed.

It's one of the rights of passage for parents of trans kids.

You get a letter from the pediatrician stating that your child is indeed transgender and is receiving appropriate medical care for her condition.

You go to court, pay $171, and stand before a judge hoping you won't get one of the hostile ones you've heard about,

who don't believe in transgender children.

We got lucky. At the end of the process I held in my hands the

holy grail of identity documents, a revised birth certificate and I used that document to enroll my daughter in school as a girl

Because that's what she is and now I don't have to worry every day about what might happen if the teacher's out sick and there's a sub.

I thought we were all set.

The only document I hadn't changed was her Social Security card.

...